Some people have difficulty consuming enough calories to gain weight. This may be caused by such disorders as fear of eating, dysphagia, lack of appetite, depression, renal failure, medication and many other causes. In the case of dysphagia, a person has difficulty in swallowing and becomes dehydrated and short of nutrition, including calories. Poor diet habits, including consumption of so-called empty calories, can also be a cause of malnutrition. Malnutrition can cause many problems, including lack of physical and mental development, secondary health issues like susceptibility to disease and even death.
In some cases, malnutrition is difficult to treat because many nutritious products require the consumption of a large quantity by weight or volume to obtain the needed calories. Some of the more concentrated sources of calories are fat and sugars (saccharides). However, these are considered empty calories even though they have nutritional benefits. They are also often difficult to incorporate into other food products that have desirable organoleptic properties. For example, fat can be difficult to incorporate into a water based product since they do not mix without other ingredients or harsh processing. Fat is also prone to oxidize, resulting in poor organoleptic properties. But, fat can be considered as essential to the diet because it can carry fat soluble food components like some vitamins. However, the consumption of fat and sugar alone can be difficult for many people, and beside calories, provide little overall nutritional benefit.
The ability to find high calorie nutritious food is difficult in a calorie conscious society where the emphasis is on low calorie food to manage against weight gain. Custom made food can be done, but usually involves foods high in water and hence weight and volume. As mentioned, the incorporation of fat into high water foods can be difficult, particularly for home preparation. Preparation from fresh foods like fruit can be difficult since many fresh foods require refrigeration for storage and comminution for preparation as by blending, with a power blender, resulting in inconvenience to the consumer and limited location choices for preparation. It is preferred to consume the food as a liquid since ingestion is easier for most people; so blending of some foods, like a banana, may not be acceptable because of its blended viscosity.
There is thus a need for a high calorie nutritious food product that can be easily stored and transported, that can be prepared easily by the addition of a liquid, and that is stable during its life before and during consumption. It is also desirable to provide a finished product that can be consumed both cold and at room temperature without significant organoleptic property change and that can be stored refrigerated after being made a liquid.